ABOUT ME
Hi, I’m Lael (they/them). I used to be heavily invested in both drinking and shrinking (dieting). I parted ways with alcohol without identifying as an alcoholic (or any other label). I mention that because if labels work for you, great! But they are not necessary to examine or question your relationship with either drinking or with disordered eating & body image issues.
If any part of you wonders if your life would be better without any of them, that is more than enough reason to explore further. It’s actually pretty effed up that both our drinking, and our relationship to food and our bodies, can be seriously messing with our lives, but society sends us the message that unless we fit the stereotype of an alcoholic or someone with a full-blown eating disorder, there’s no cause for concern. Not only are those stereotypes problematic and not actually representative of huge groups of people, but why wait to address something that we know is causing us harm now?
​
During my experience of parting ways with alcohol and then tackling a lifetime of dieting, disordered eating (including an undiagnosed eating disorder), and body shame, I found resources that addressed quitting drinking OR that addressed disordered eating & body image issues. Yet I could not find any that spoke to the intersection of the two. And in my personal experience, and in the experience of most of those I have worked with, the two do indeed frequently intersect.
Disengaging from diet culture has been some of the most challenging work I’ve ever done and also the most rewarding. And all the work I’d done in connection with becoming alcohol-free, and all the tools and tricks I’d gathered to support that effort, helped support me in this area of reclamation as well.
​
I have reclaimed my body from alcohol, and I continue to reclaim it from diet culture.
​
Every. Damn. Day.
​
As I know I am not the only one for whom drinking intersects with disordered eating & body image issues, I choose to focus on both areas. I leave it to those who want to work with me whether they choose to focus on one or the other, or the two in combination.​
​
I am queer, nonbinary, and someone who benefits from the privileges associated with being white, currently able-bodied, and currently in a straight-size body. I have found, and you may as well, that the more we reclaim our own bodies, the fiercer our desire to fight for the rights of ALL bodies, and the stronger we feel in our ability to do so.
​
In addition to my lived experience, my credentials include being a Certified Professional Recovery Coach, Certified Diet Recovery Coach, Certified Weight Neutral Coach, Certified Holistic Health Coach, and Certified Professional Coach.
​
I also firmly believe in the healing powers of both profanity and humor.
​
​
Schedule your free
consultation call